Welcome to The Tide Chart, Rhode Island FC fans. After receiving inspiration from reading the daily reports coming from Patriots training camp recently, I’ve decided to kick off a new monthly series that will highlight which RIFC players have been trending up and down over the previous month. 

It’s important to remember that player form, just like team form, will rise and fall throughout the season. Last month’s fallers could be next month’s risers, and vice versa. The goal here is to highlight some of the biggest changes in form based on where their form and expectations were at the start of the month. A rising tide doesn’t necessarily mean the player is performing great, just as a falling tide doesn’t automatically mean the player is performing poorly.

With that, let’s look at The Tide Chart for the month of July. Which players are on the rise, and which have struggled or fallen out of Coach Khano’s favor?

Rising Tide 📈

There are many players trending up at the moment, which has been a huge reason why the team is in such an incredible run of form. Here are a few of the players whose tides have risen this past month.

Zachary Herivaux

No surprise here given how quickly Herivaux has burst onto the scene. Herivaux arrived in early July and entered late in his first two matches. It was fair to wonder at that time if he was simply brought in as an experienced depth piece to help secure the midfield every now and then. Despite not having many goals to his name in his professional career (only 7 goals in 120 matches in all competitions before joining RIFC), his game-winning goals against Birmingham Legion and North Carolina FC were as impressive as they were impactful. Herivaux seems to be a player who has solid technical skills combined with great positional awareness, which is hugely important for any good central midfielder. The big question now is whether his recent performances will earn him a starting spot in the lineup. It should be noted, though, that he is returning from an injury that kept him off the field for an entire year so he still may need more time to work up the stamina to play a full 90 minutes.

Frank Nodarse

I debated whether or not to put Frank the Tank on this list because he has been so good for most of the season. He set the bar high after a few weeks in the starting eleven but he continues to impress week in and week out. Nodarse has shown continued improvement, to the point where I can’t remember the last time he had a down match. He’s grown more comfortable in his positioning on defense and in his ball-handling and distribution when the team starts their buildup of attack from the back. He’s also shown that his height and aerial ability provide a difficult challenge for the defense on corner kicks. His stock has been rising nearly all season long.

Grant Stoneman

Stoneman got hurt in just the third game of the season at Tampa Bay and didn’t return until very late in the July 5th match against Indy Eleven. With how well the back line had been performing, his return to the starting lineup was never a sure thing. After another appearance off the bench in the 61st minute of the July 13th match against Miami FC, he started (and finished) the two remaining July matches performing solidly in both. Stoneman also deserves the lion’s share of credit for his role in Mark Doyle’s tying goal in the 74th minute against North Carolina FC. His anticipation and tenacity were the main catalyst for the goal and were the turning point in a match Rhode Island deserved to win.

Falling Tide 📉

There really aren’t many players who are underperforming, but there are some that seem to be falling out of favor as the team returns to full health. Here are the guys whose tides have fallen as of late.

Conor McGlynn

McGlynn returned from an early season injury in late May and saw his minutes tick up quickly. He started in 4 of 5 matches between June 8 and July 13 (Detroit City FC, Memphis 901, Indy Eleven, and Miami FC) while making an appearance as a substitute in the other match (June 26 against El Paso).  But since then? Zero minutes in two matches. It seems to me that Khano all of a sudden has a multitude of viable options in the midfield and there have been many standout players during this run of good form. The addition of Herivaux to this mix has made it tougher for McGlynn and others (see below) to get playing time. I don’t think McGlynn has performed poorly, but his lack of playing time lately seems to be a function of tough competition in the midfield.

Joe Brito

Brito has been an interesting case all season. He has mainly been used as a number 10, sitting behind the forwards as a connecting piece in the attack between the midfield and the strikers. It often has felt like that role is not a great fit for his skillset, and as a result his playing time has been really up and down. Brito only started one match in July (July 5 against Indy Eleven) but he was substituted at halftime. After that, he played 19, 18, and 0 minutes in the other July matches. The number 10 position has been a revolving door throughout the year but it seems like Fuson (who has been excellent) has settled into being the first choice at the spot. Between that and the ascendance of Isaac Angking and Zachary Herivaux as super subs, Brito’s playing time has suffered as he has fallen further out of favor.

Isaac Angking

Despite rising to become an effective and entertaining super sub in June, his minutes in July have dropped off big time. He played 15 minutes on July 5 against Indy Eleven and scored the tying goal at the death to provide an exciting finish in front of a raucous home crowd. But since then his only appearance came very late in the most recent match against North Carolina FC.  He was set to come in while the match was tied at 1-1 but Khano decided to put him into the match anyway after the go-ahead goal was scored in the 85th minute.  Isaac’s situation, from what I can tell, is another case of Khano having many options to pick from in the midfield. Isaac brings a ton of energy and chaos, which is great late in games when chaos is needed. Against a crappy Miami FC team, a 3-0 lead meant the game script didn’t really favor bringing in Angking over other players who hadn’t seen much time lately. And against Birmingham Legion, Herivaux was subbed into the match instead of Angking, but it was the right decision given Herivaux’s introduction into the game turned the momentum and the result in RIFC’s favor. I still think we will see Isaac play a lot of meaningful minutes but there’s no doubt that he is in the mix with a handful of players there who are looking to earn more time on the pitch.

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I’ll see you back here at the conclusion of August to recap what is a hopefully fun and successful month for our club. In the meantime, comment below or on socials to let me know what I got wrong or if you agree with my takes.

Also don’t forget to follow and subscribe to all the great content that Tide Talk produces each week. The Post-Match Beacon by Matt H and Player Ratings by Timmy S are both great ways to follow player performances from week to week so be sure to give them some love.

Up The Tide!